Last Updated on June 26, 2023 by Packoi Team
Your packaging design should do more than just represent your brand.
It has to connect with your customers. That’s the one thing that will make people want to buy your product in the first place. It’s also a great reason to make a repeat purchase.
The question is, what type of design should you choose for your product box?
In this article, you’ll learn why you must make your product box unique. You’ll also get several creative packaging ideas that’ll inspire you to create functional, humorous, and artistic product boxes.
The Incredible Power of Unique Packaging Designs
Your product’s packaging design plays a huge role in getting people to buy, not just once, but several times. So if you’re working on increasing your sales, you must consider your packaging designs.
Truth be told, your branding packaging design is also crucial in developing a strong brand identity. You can gain many things if you consider what your product box looks like.
All it takes is one unique design for people to remember your brand forever. Even if they’re already using another product, their curiosity can make them want to try you out even just once. And if your product is exceptional, you’d have gained a new customer. Maybe you can even turn them into loyal ones.
Unique packaging designs are also powerful advertising tools. Creative packaging ideas can be conversation starters.
The more unconventional it is, the more interested people will be. This will increase brand awareness and help you get even more traction in your sales.
But first, you must find the right packaging design to set your product box apart.
How to Find Custom Packaging Design Ideas
Coming up with a creative packaging design doesn’t just happen. Sure, some people seem to be blessed with the insight to think of incredible designs for their product boxes.
But you might be surprised by the process they have to go through to get their creative juices flowing. Artistic people are just incredibly observant. They know where to look so they can get creative packaging ideas.
Believe it or not, you can access some great packaging ideas. If you want to develop the most innovative designs for your product boxes, here are five areas you must consider.
Get Inspiration from Famous Brands
Famous brands have a huge following. They already have established businesses with a huge budget for their think tank.
If there are companies that can come up with impressive creative packaging ideas, they have the resources and manpower to make it happen.
You can take your cues from them. No, that doesn’t mean you have to invest in your think tank.
All you have to do is observe their product packaging design. See how you can use it as an inspiration to come up with your own.
Take their packaging and turn it into something that’ll represent your brand and resonate with your customers.
Ask Your Customers
Since it’s your packaging design is meant to attract customers, it’s only fitting that you talk to them about your product box.
You can create a survey to get a feel of what they’re expecting from your brand. Or you can start a contest so people can start pitching their creative packaging ideas.
There are many ways to get your customers involved in the packaging design.
This won’t just give you ideas about the preferences of your target market. It’s also a great way to engage them with your brand.
Consult Your Team
While you’re at it, you should also consult your team about your packaging design. It seems like the most obvious thing to do, but some companies don’t involve the people who work in the company – save for the design team.
But getting input from your team will help you craft the right packaging design to represent your brand well.
Consulting your team will also make them feel more invested in the growth of your brand.
Look at Competitors
You’re sharing the same market as your competitors. Whatever product packaging design they have, you can assume that they’ve researched and decided that it’s what the market prefers.
If you’re still undecided about your packaging design, that’s something worth considering.
Of course, you don’t want to copy them exactly. But you can get a few ideas out of them. Take whatever you like from their packaging designs and create a better version out of it.
Seek Expert Opinions
If you’re stuck and you’re not getting any ideas for your packaging design, you can always hire a professional graphic designer to help. To be specific, get a packaging graphic designer. You’ll have to pay for their expertise – but there are cost-efficient ways to do this.
You can go to the website of known graphic designers. Look at their recent packaging inputs.
Or you can talk to your packaging supplier. They usually have in-house designers. They may be able to advise you about your packaging design – at a fraction of the cost.
Research Design Trends
Get your cues from these packaging design trends to mix and match them until you get a unique product box for your brand.
It’s always wise to consult design trends before you finalize your product packaging design. You can check out what industry experts are saying.
Read articles like this one to know what popular packaging material, creative packaging ideas, and the latest innovations are currently available.
9 Functional Packaging Design Ideas that Highlight the Product
One of the goals of product packaging design is to make the customer experience with their purchase as good as possible. That means you have to make your packaging design functional. Come up with a creative packaging design that’ll allow the customer to use the product better.
Here are some of the functional packaging ideas that could be a unique selling point for your products.
Hanger for Clothing Products
This is a design made by Steve Haslip after he got tired of getting wrinkled shirts he bought online. So he designed clever packaging for clothing that can transform into a hanger.
This unique packaging design is not just clever but also very sustainable. Instead of throwing the packaging away, customers can use it to hang the product they just bought.
If you want to implement this, make sure you provide clear instructions and print it on the packaging so the customer won’t miss it.
Butter Knife Lid
This packaging design is a creation of Yeongkeun. The actual packaging has everything you need to use the product.
Instead of getting a butter knife, you can remove the lid and use it to spread the butter on the bread. The packaging is even in the shape of a butter knife. Customers can use that to take a hint that they’re supposed to use the lid to spread the butter.
Second Compartment for Empty Peanut Shells
This simple yet incredibly clever packaging design by Noémie Cotton shows a great way to help customers enjoy a product.
This packaging is a simple brown paper bag with two compartments. One part holds peanuts while the other part is empty. Apparently, the 2nd part is for the empty peanut shells. It may seem like a simple thing, but customers will love the thought that they don’t have to worry about their trash while eating peanuts.
Handle at the End of a Box
Think of a product box that’s designed with a handle so people can carry it conveniently. Like a shoe box with a handle.
This product packaging design eliminates the need to put the shoe box in another paper or plastic bag. The customer can already carry the box easily. It’s incredibly sustainable and useful in case the customer decides to reuse the box for storage at home.
Product Box as Dispenser
This packaging design isn’t exactly new. But it’s not being used as often as it deserves to be.
Think of the Tide Eco-Box packaging. It was designed with functionality and sustainability in mind. It uses 60% less plastic than its previous product containers.
Customers won’t have to transfer the contents because the box doubles as a dispenser, making it easier for them to use.
These are the packaging ideas that you should come up with if you want convenience for your customers. Of course, it’s also ideal if you want to promote your business as a sustainable brand.
Food Box with Drink Holder
Your product box can also include design elements that have nothing to do with the actual product – but have everything to do with your customers.
For instance, the lid of a pastry box designed by Eva Bakacs features different black holes that the customer can easily puncture open to put their drinks. The holes come in different diameters to accommodate various drink sizes.
The packaging design allows customers to conveniently eat pastries without struggling with their drinks.
Popcorn Packaging that Turns Into a Bowl
Having popcorn packaging that turns into a bowl is incredibly clever and convenient. The packaging design created by Packlab looks flat at first. But the packaging also expands once the kernels start popping in the microwave. When opened, it’s sturdy enough to be used as a bowl.
Use this as your inspiration if you want to create custom boxes that the customer can use as storage or container while consuming your product.
Spoon-Shaped Creamer Container
This packaging design is just like the butter knife lid that you can use as a spreader. This time, the creamer container can mix a drink as a utensil. The packaging is designed by Yu-Ren Lai. It’s long – with the creamer on one end and a round spoon-like shape on the other end. Once the creamer is put on the drink, the customer can turn the packaging to use the other end as a stirrer.
Dog Food Packaging with Bowl
This is for furry lovers. Benjamin Yi designed a dog food box to open up as a bowl on the other end. This packaging design is very convenient because you can carry it while walking your dog without bringing a bowl for them to eat.
Packaging designs such as this require you to understand what your customers go through. It allows you to anticipate the customers’ needs so your packaging can provide the solution.
8 Humorous Ways to Package Ordinary Products
Being functional with your product packaging design is a great idea. But it’s not the only way to make your product box unique. You can also put some humor in your packaging.
Don’t just limit your packaging to basic shapes and sizes.
Here are some of the funny yet creative packaging ideas you can use for inspiration.
Open Mouth Window
This is an awesome packaging design for food products. If you sell cookies, ships, or any edible product, make your product box look like it’s eating the product.
Use the die-cut technique to achieve this design. Then position the mouth around the window so it looks like the character is about to eat the product.
Earplugs with Volume Dial for Cover
Here’s an example of cleverness and humor. The product packaging is a creation of Scholz & Friends for 3M. It features a bottle filled with earplugs wherein the cap has a volume design. Opening the bottle will seem like the customer is turning down the volume.
This creative packaging design plays with the very reason why the customer wants to use the product.
Earplugs with Volume Dial for Cover
This is a simple packaging design by Corrine Pant inspired by the product’s very nature. Earphones are meant to help people hear. So instead of a typical product box, the packaging is simple cardboard with a musical beamed note design. You’ll see the earbuds of the product protruding from the note.
The inspiration here is to pay homage to the nature of the product and use a design that symbolizes it.
Mustache Paint Brush
This packaging design is from Simon Laliberté – the genius behind The Beard Brushes. It’s such a simple product that’s suddenly popular simply for the way it’s packaged.
Laliberté uses a cardboard design with a man’s face and then wraps it around the paintbrush so the bristles look like the beard. This is a funny way to display paintbrushes.
This is a great example of how the right design can make a product stand out.
Oven-Shaped Cookie Box
This fun packaging design plays on how the product is created.
We all know that cookies are baked. So if you’re selling cookies, why not package them in a product box that looks like an oven? This is the idea behind the packaging created by Saturday Mfg (now Maclyn Group) for Thelma’s Treats.
Although it seems excessive, you must admit it’s fun. You can bet that it’ll leave a lasting impression on customers. Kids can have fun playing with this even after the cookies run out.
Casket Cigarette Box
This has a bit of dark humor. But if you want your product to stand out, this is one way to do it.
This design came from Reynold and Reyner. It features a casket-shaped cigarette box. It’s a powerful message – but you can bet that smokers won’t take offense.
So it’s a safe way to warn customers of the dangers of smoking without being too morbid about it.
Pasta Hair
Sometimes, the design of your box doesn’t have to be connected to the product. But if it’s executed well, it’ll look artistic and unique.
Take the Good Hair Day Pasta of Greenomic as an example. They have a creative packaging design that transforms the product into different hairstyles for women.
But you have to be careful with this one. Make sure the product and the position of the die cut are done well and in good taste. Otherwise, it might just look weird.
7 Artistic Designs to Create Unique Product Boxes
Being functional and humorous are great packaging design strategies. But you have another way to design your product boxes.
You can simply be artistic about it.
But don’t just put any art design on your packaging. People have different tastes when it comes to appreciating art. You have to choose the one your target market can relate to.
Here are some examples of using art in your packaging design.
Play with Words
Typography is a common technique to be artistic with your packaging design. Using different sizes and types of font so it creates a unique pattern on the product box.
You should choose the words you’ll use more than the design. Although you can use random words, ensure they’re still relevant so your customers can connect them to the product. It could be a description of your brand or product. Or it could be a message that you want to send your customers.
Doodle Art
Using doodles in your packaging design can be tricky. It’s random drawings all-over the product box.
But if you’re attuned to your customer’s preferences, you should be able to come up with a doodle art that you can uniquely call your own.
Admittedly, this is hard to do from scratch – unless you have impeccable artistic skills. You might have to hire an expert to create this for you.
Cartoon Characters
This could work if you have a mascot or character that’s already associated with your brand. You can feature that character in your packaging design.
If you’re selling food products, the character can be the one being depicted with an open mouth and ready to eat.
Or you can create a series of cartoon strips that tell a story about your brand. Or any narrative that your character can identify with.
Simplicity with Colors
One of the simplest ways of decorating your packaging design is by using the right combination of colors. You can use pastel or bold colors.
Make a statement by using black and white. Appeal to the feminine side of your customers by using pinks and lavenders.
You have to realize that colors are powerful enough to evoke emotions. You can turn your packaging into a powerful marketing tool with the right color options. It can influence people’s buying decisions, so be distinctive with your options.
Intricate Patterns
Patterns in packaging design are a common practice. But the question is, what type of patterns should you use?
If you want to keep your patterns unique to your brand, make them intricate. Include details in it that only applies to your brand.
Include your logo in it. Or your brand name. Creating unique packaging patterns about your character makes sense if you have a brand mascot.
Or the patterns can be about the product. If you sell fruity scents, create fruit patterns and print them all over the product box.
Fine Lines
Another way to be artistic with your packaging design is by simply using fine lines. Create silhouettes and contours that your customers can recognize.
Also known as contour drawing, this is a great technique for a minimalist product box. You’ll rely on outlines to tell a story. Sometimes, the image isn’t obvious – but as the customer stares at it, it forms.
It’s a great way to show art and your creativity.
Vintage Art
This never gets old. Vintage art initially became popular for commercial purposes. So using it in your packaging design makes sense.
Of course, when you use this art technique, make sure it brings your product justice. It should also fit your brand image.
Choose the right colors and image depiction that looks vintage – but can still give justice to your brand and product.
Do You Have Unique Ideas for Your Product Box? Packoi Printing Is Ready to Help Produce Them for You.
More than anything, packaging design is about context. Whether you are functional, humorous, or artistic, you must consider your brand image, customer preference, and product requirements.
If you’re looking for inspiration, you can always consult an expert to give you ideas about your product box.
Packoi Printing has years of experience and expertise in designing product boxes – and other types of packaging. We also offer design services to help bring your ideas to life.
Give us a call so we can discuss your ideas.
We’ll get back to you with a fair quotation in no time.
